The emergence and development of marketing as a distinct, autonomous, specialized branch of economics is inextricably linked to the commercial function of the enterprise, especially its sales activity.
In fact, in the first decades of the twentieth century, some difficulties in the normal development of economic activities specific to companies in developed economies (US and Western European countries) had as main causes certain "problems" of dysfunction related to the activity of market (“to market” - marketing).
For a start, the problems manifested themselves in the sphere of consumer goods, their specific market relations having as field of development the retail trade. For this reason, the "old" concept of marketing was initially attached to the branch of trade science, an opinion perpetuated, incorrectly, to this day.
In this situation, the scientific instrumentation of marketing was first developed in the consumer goods sector and in relation to the trade branch.
The economic dynamism was reflected in several spheres of human activity, reason for which, the object of marketing extended, in the corresponding economic and extraeconomic branches, the marketing acquiring universal character.
Such a development, known as “external development” was doubled by a marketing specialization expressed by the separation and delimitation of its distinct fields, whose object was constituted by adapting the general techniques and methods, to the specifics of these branches of activity or by identifying new ones, characteristic of these branches.
In this way, they appeared and developed as distinct fields: “business to business” marketing, agromarketing, consumer goods marketing, services marketing, transport marketing, tourist marketing, educational marketing, banking financial marketing, etc.
In such a position is also placed the field of retail trade, a field in full process of establishment, consolidation and maturation.
This paper "Marketing Strategies in Retail" prepared by Mr. Catana Stefan, PhD in marketing, is a valuable contribution to the development of marketing in general, service marketing in particular and retail marketing in particular.
Viewed from another perspective, the paper has an important contribution to the intensive development of consumer goods marketing.
The paper represents the result of long preoccupations of the author that started from the faculty benches and were continued, after the completion of the bachelor and master studies, with the doctoral ones.
In his scientific approach, the author started from the finding, reported in the literature, that marketing development has taken place and takes place in two directions: one, belonging to marketing specialists who address, in their research, the most varied spheres of human activity. from the marketing position and another, belonging to the specialists of the scientific fields corresponding to the various branches of activity. In this context, the author of this paper is placed in the first group of specialists, thus dealing with the retail branch from the position of marketing specialist.
Such an approach was found primarily in assessing the current state of knowledge, on which occasion the author notes an insufficient reflection of the concepts, techniques and methods specific to marketing services in the trade sector, especially those that define its scientific object: marketing external to the company, interactive marketing and internal marketing to the company. Moreover, these concepts are a consequence of the characteristics of the services defined by the succession of activities having as final result the sale of the purchase of some goods necessary to satisfy some consumption needs.
In such a sense, the author researches, in depth, the degree of use in retail, of the most valuable and modern scientific management tool, the marketing strategy structured according to the concepts mentioned above.
The research conducted by the author was based on a wide variety of methods of collecting and processing information selected according to the purpose and objectives defined by the problem under investigation. Qualitative and quantitative research, exploratory research and conclusive research, widely exposed throughout the paper, were used.
The research is placed, at the same time, in the sphere of instrumental research, the author developing, as a pioneer in our country, methodologies for designing and conducting exploratory research: documentary research on the coverage of promotional media of external marketing strategies in retail trade; scientific observation of the organization of sales areas it also has the display of goods in stores and on this basis, the identification of strategic alternatives for interactive marketing, used in retail.
In the same context, in both researches, the development, with a pioneering character, of the deductive method of processing and analysis of the information obtained from such researches is included.
The use of the marketing strategy as a management tool of the organization implies, on the one hand, the development of processes that have as finality the choice of strategic alternatives corresponding to the conditions in which the company operates, which are subject to strategic marketing planning, and on the other hand, the implementation of strategies. , by carrying out other processes, of operative programming, which have as finality the marketing program.
The practical way to solve such problems is considered by the author by designing a model of strategic marketing planning in retail. In its realization, the author took as inspiration the model developed for corporations by the "father" of modern marketing, Philip Kotler, structured on decision-making levels corresponding to retail and the model of structuring strategic alternatives by taking into account the conditions for their adoption. (strategic factors) proposed by the "father" of Romanian marketing, Constantin Florescu.
Through its content, the paper is characterized by a high scientific level and originality, constituting a real help for specialists, students and teachers with concerns in the retail sector.
Prof. Univ. Dr. Valerica Olteanu
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